In electronic circuits, a challenge faced by designers is the transfer of signals over long distances, for example across an integrated circuit die or ‘chip’. The traces or metal lines that conduct these signals across a die may be long, and have associated parasitic resistances and capacitance effects. The result of these parasitic effects can be slow signal transitions, and require the use of powerful driver circuits.
A conventional solution to this challenge comprises using large drivers to drive long parasitic lines and repeaters to improve signal transfer. The combination of parasitic resistance in series and parallel capacitance to ground creates a large RC time constant. This can delay the rate of signal transfer due to slow transitions from the large RC delays and result in low voltage levels and decreased transistor drive which reduces high speed performance. The use of very large drivers or repeaters (buffers) increases power consumption with diminishing returns on speed improvement.
Thus there exists a need for a signal transmission amplifier that increases the transmission speed of a signal and has fast transition times.